A flexographic printing unit may utilize a doctor blade to meter, or control, an amount of ink on an anilox roller. The doctor blade may scrape the anilox roller to shear off ink that is over the top of any of the anilox cells that make up the anilox roller. However, in some instances, a doctor blade may allow ink to accumulate on a back side of the doctor blade (non-scraping side). In turn, the accumulation of ink may intermittently drop onto the anilox roller (at a position on the anilox roller after the point of shearing), which is detrimental since it may result in excess ink being transferred to a printing plate/plate cylinder. This accumulation of ink and intermittent dropping onto the post-shearing side of the anilox roller may be referred to as “spitting.” A need, therefore, exists, for an improved doctor blade holder and adjustment mechanism that may be utilized to reduce or eliminate this spitting phenomenon. Aspects of the disclosed innovation address the above-referenced and other deficiencies in conventional adjustment mechanisms and doctor blade holders.